Remember ‘khoob ladi mardani woh to Jhansi wali rani thi’ or ‘do gaz zameen bhi na mili kue yaar mein’? Rani Laxmi Bhai of Jhansi, her companion Jhalkari Bai, Tantia Tope, Mangal Pandey & Bahadur Shah Zafar: these are people from Indian history we have most often read about, their poetry of defiance or of despair, were all part of the experience of 1857. (more…)

Here’s a brief overview of our heritage walk on 1857 revolt, which was organised this past Sunday. It is great pleasure to walk around the city on pleasant winter mornings and rains only add to this experience, I think. A group of enthusiasts joined us to explore the neighbourhood of Kashmiri Gate for landmarks of 1857. Our starting point was Nicholson’s Cemetery. The cemetery is located in an area which was the battle zone between rebels in Shajahanabad & the British on the Northern Ridge. (more…)

Our heritage walk in the Kashmiri Gate area covers some of the sites where the rebellion of 1857 played out. Through this trail we try to weave the story of the revolt, the lives of people around involved in it & memorials left by them.

We begin the heritage walk from Nicholson’s Cemetery. Brigadier General John Nicholson had quite a reputation, as a strict no-nonsense chap who was fatally injured in 1857. The cemetery is named after him. (more…)

For a walk leader, it is good to see a large group come out in chilly winter mornings to join us on these heritage walks. Our heritage trail in Kashmiri Gate focuses on some sites connected to the events of 1857 rebellion. The walk starts at Nicholson’s Cemetery, the most important burial being that of British General John Nicholson. He is one of the most well known heroes of 1857 ‘mutiny’ for the British. (more…)

The Kashmiri Gate route is one of the more unusual trudges among our heritage walks. The landmarks covered in this heritage trail are no picturesque monuments. Rather, these are places which are constantly being lived in & thereby altered.  Some places are ill kept, others under government control where the caretakers go into hiding, locking up their buildings as soon as they see a curious visitor. (more…)